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Elmo Lewis

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rbk
NASCAR has been socialized i.e. every car and every team has been reduced to the same level of mediocrity. Stages and other gimmicks notwithstanding it's become boring. The Car of Tomorrow introduced 9-10 years ago put the last nail in the coffin. Now it's just a contrived reality show.

I'm fortunate enough to have seen the the Pettys and Yarboroughs and Pearsons and Chargers and Torinos and Montegos of the world race back in the day. Back then the cars were the stars as much as the drivers. Now they're featureless blobs.

Michigan International Speedway where I've attended since 1969 grew massively but in recent years has removed the seating from virtually all of the turns and replaced it with hoity-toity RV parking. The mile of team semis selling souvenirs by the ton has been replaced by a single tent. It's sad, really, but NASCAR became a victim of first their own success and then hubris.

Yes, my first race was 1983! Buddy Baker on the pole. Won by Bennie Parsons. Earnhardt, Sr. in the Wrangler #27 car.

Earnhardt (sr) drove for Bud Moore,who had # 15,in 82 & 83.....yeah,the changes at MIS have been numerus..1st building & then dismantling....i only go to fri practice/qualifying these days....still like the sport but,sad to say,it has changed...

Surrounded by fans, after college I decided to try to become a NASCAR fan. Decided I'd become an Alan Kulwicki fan. Throughout 1992 I had much fun at watch parties with friends. I liked the fact that he was an independent owner/driver and, as a 23 year old male, I liked the Hooters connection and the "Polish Victory Lap" was just too much fun. REALLY FUN when, in just my first season following the sport, that the driver I chose to root for won the championship!!!

April Fools Day 1993 I was sooo saaad... NASCAR was never the same for me.

With all the changes over the past 25 years, I've pretty much lost interest although it is fun sometimes to sit and watch the left turns. Camping in the infield of Talladega was a fun experience the one time I did that with friends. Talk about a "sub-culture"... People watching sure was entertaining! But then again, that's always fun for me regardless of the site or activity going on.

Peace,
Mr DJA

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detroitken

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Elmo Lewis

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rbk
NASCAR has been socialized i.e. every car and every team has been reduced to the same level of mediocrity. Stages and other gimmicks notwithstanding it's become boring. The Car of Tomorrow introduced 9-10 years ago put the last nail in the coffin. Now it's just a contrived reality show.

I'm fortunate enough to have seen the the Pettys and Yarboroughs and Pearsons and Chargers and Torinos and Montegos of the world race back in the day. Back then the cars were the stars as much as the drivers. Now they're featureless blobs.

Michigan International Speedway where I've attended since 1969 grew massively but in recent years has removed the seating from virtually all of the turns and replaced it with hoity-toity RV parking. The mile of team semis selling souvenirs by the ton has been replaced by a single tent. It's sad, really, but NASCAR became a victim of first their own success and then hubris.

Yes, my first race was 1983! Buddy Baker on the pole. Won by Bennie Parsons. Earnhardt, Sr. in the Wrangler #27 car.

Earnhardt (sr) drove for Bud Moore,who had # 15,in 82 & 83.....yeah,the changes at MIS have been numerus..1st building & then dismantling....i only go to fri practice/qualifying these days....still like the sport but,sad to say,it has changed...

Might have been 84. Oooops.

"No Anchovies, Please"

March 18, 1984

Atlanta

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Leonioid
The Daytona 500 race is tomorrow? I had no idea.


I liked stock car racing as a kid, started loving it in the 80s and was a rabid fan in 90s and early 2000s... then the horse crap started when the old man died and the stupid punkass kid brian france took over.

Brianboy is an idiot riding out the last days of what his Grandfather started... really he has been running it into the ground with so many stupid unorganic changes, excess rules and stupid BS.

Brian France is a classic example of a spoiled rich kid who squandered the family riches.

Viewership is down, fanship is down, Race attendance is down, merchandise sales are down and consolidating, the number of cars on track are down... Stock Car racings glory day are well in the past.

I quit watching every Sunday 3 years ago after one too many TOTAL BS calls by the leadership group. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Time to stop caring.

I used to play the stock car fantasy games every week for the entire season for 10+ years and I always did very well, but I got tired of being pissed off at the stupidity... it was supposed to be fun... but it became a lot of nonsense.

I will tune in when I am flipping channels and it beats watching fishing... but I do not give one fk about the race or who wins... who wins what? the first segment? the second segment? what? Huh... what a bunch of malarkey.


Facts be known, I have not missed being a fan one bit. On the contrary I have enjoyed having my Sundays free to do so many other things... and I really really really do not miss waiting out all the freeking rain delays... geeeeez what a waste of time... not to mention the season is 6 weeks too long.



TL/DR Used to be a huge fan, but I dumped stock car racing like a bag of heavy annoying rocks.

Considering we are in a Rain Delay at this very moment here in Atlanta, I remembered your comment about it.

I agree 100% on the waste of time there. Watching those track dryers going around the track is literally as much fun as watching paint dry. And, just about the time they get it dry enough to fire up the cars, here comes that rainy day feeling again.

It has happened to me several times, at Atlanta, Tallagega, and Martinsville, but the worst, by far, was the very first one.

Two buddies and myself got a wild hair on the morning of that race and decided to drive to Talladega, despite sort of an "iffy" weather forecast. We arrived, bought tickets at face value, very good seats on the front stretch, and got settled in for a nice afternoon of racing.

Driver introductions, parade, prayer, National Anthem, everything on schedule. Cars fired up, took the first of a few pace laps, lights go out on the pace car, everyone standing up, excited.....and then the lights go back on. PA announcer says "there are a few rain drops in turn 3, but doesn't look too bad."

Lights go out again, OK, now we're ready to go, and then......lights on again, "well, now there are few rain drops over the backstretch....."

And, then, KA-WHAM, biggest thunderstorm I've ever seen. PA announcer clears the stands due to a twister on the ground about 12 miles to the west of the track. We got to our muddy parking lot, soaked, and endured horrendous rain storms crawling in traffic all the way back to Atlanta.

Yep, good times, right?

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Mongoose

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Leonioid
The Daytona 500 race is tomorrow? I had no idea.


I liked stock car racing as a kid, started loving it in the 80s and was a rabid fan in 90s and early 2000s... then the horse crap started when the old man died and the stupid punkass kid brian france took over.

Brianboy is an idiot riding out the last days of what his Grandfather started... really he has been running it into the ground with so many stupid unorganic changes, excess rules and stupid BS.

Brian France is a classic example of a spoiled rich kid who squandered the family riches.

Viewership is down, fanship is down, Race attendance is down, merchandise sales are down and consolidating, the number of cars on track are down... Stock Car racings glory day are well in the past.

I quit watching every Sunday 3 years ago after one too many TOTAL BS calls by the leadership group. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Time to stop caring.

I used to play the stock car fantasy games every week for the entire season for 10+ years and I always did very well, but I got tired of being pissed off at the stupidity... it was supposed to be fun... but it became a lot of nonsense.

I will tune in when I am flipping channels and it beats watching fishing... but I do not give one fk about the race or who wins... who wins what? the first segment? the second segment? what? Huh... what a bunch of malarkey.


Facts be known, I have not missed being a fan one bit. On the contrary I have enjoyed having my Sundays free to do so many other things... and I really really really do not miss waiting out all the freeking rain delays... geeeeez what a waste of time... not to mention the season is 6 weeks too long.



TL/DR Used to be a huge fan, but I dumped stock car racing like a bag of heavy annoying rocks.

Considering we are in a Rain Delay at this very moment here in Atlanta, I remembered your comment about it.

I agree 100% on the waste of time there. Watching those track dryers going around the track is literally as much fun as watching paint dry. And, just about the time they get it dry enough to fire up the cars, here comes that rainy day feeling again.

It has happened to me several times, at Atlanta, Tallagega, and Martinsville, but the worst, by far, was the very first one.

Two buddies and myself got a wild hair on the morning of that race and decided to drive to Talladega, despite sort of an "iffy" weather forecast. We arrived, bought tickets at face value, very good seats on the front stretch, and got settled in for a nice afternoon of racing.

Driver introductions, parade, prayer, National Anthem, everything on schedule. Cars fired up, took the first of a few pace laps, lights go out on the pace car, everyone standing up, excited.....and then the lights go back on. PA announcer says "there are a few rain drops in turn 3, but doesn't look too bad."

Lights go out again, OK, now we're ready to go, and then......lights on again, "well, now there are few rain drops over the backstretch....."

And, then, KA-WHAM, biggest thunderstorm I've ever seen. PA announcer clears the stands due to a twister on the ground about 12 miles to the west of the track. We got to our muddy parking lot, soaked, and endured horrendous rain storms crawling in traffic all the way back to Atlanta.

Yep, good times, right?

Best of times

Nice to see you understand

And tthat is funny about how HUGE Talladega is.... it is HUGE!! so huge it can 3 different weather patterns depending on where on the track... few rain drops in turn 3 and be brigh and sunny on the .... but then... as you said...

I never did make to Talladega to see a race. We meant to...
The fantasy plan we talked about was to put together a fly in and fly out thing Fly right into the track airport... but we never quite pulled it together... almost though... almost.


Anyone who is/was as serious of a stock car racing fan as I used to be (I watched every race seriously, I was into it, I played the fantasy games seriously every week) knows full well the last few years (going back 3 years) about alllll aaaaalll of, waaaaaay too many of those too freeking many rain delays.

It got ridiculous as I/we sat there and waited all them out... like a big dummy.

I didn't recall the rain delays being that big of a deal before...
but suddenly it seemed to become a regular freeking thing... and it is huuuuugge waste of time. And that does not include the shenanigans about if/when/should they start the race at all.... or restart it in time to finsih before dark... or wait until tomorrow... or calling it early (too early) and giving some **^%$#@% an undeserved win.

The rain delay BS... man... man o' man... I especially do not miss those at all.


TL/DR
I feel ya man.
I was just spinning the dial and did not even stop on the race channel.

My new style is if I can catch the end... then I will... but I honestly do not care. Oh well, it is all slipping away anyway. I realized that as I perused over the names from last week and there are fewer and fewer stars (imho). I wonder what they will do about that?


PS
It made me roll my eyes this week to see too many ads for this weeks race highlighting that dirty driver from last week. I twas BS how he talked about how he likes being the bad guy, a dirty driver. It is a crock of crap that they used that to market the race... it is a crock of crap that if/when an "unchosen" driver does the exact same move they will put the hammer down.

It is especially in bad taste they are using the #3 like that. He was one of a kind.


I used to say rubbin racin... and it was all good... I didnt mind dirty driving until they started picking and choose which drivers can and which drivers cant do it.

I recall the exact things, the final straws, that ended my fanship... it was when they allowed punky logano to get away with questionable driving dirty... but then 2-3 weks later they penalized Matt Kenseth so severely that it took him out of Championship contention for doing basically the same thing logano did. I twas the last straw. I was done with them after that year. I played out the season and have not been back.

But obviously... LOL... I still have issues here. I am still typing way too much about it... dang it!



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2018-02-25 21:50 by Leonioid.

I think my favorite times in stock car racing was back when Dale Sr was still in it to win it... and Jeff Gordon was coming up through the ranks... and everybody hated Gordon... but I liked him because he could win on any track... and the racing between Dale Sr and Gordon... and the earned respect. Those were some good times.

Back before stock car racing got all fancy pants full of itself thinking they were something special, back when it was just good ole boys. Back when Fastest Chicken in The South!! meant sumthin

Then they ruined it.

I miss the good ole days. New and improved never really is.

We are from a similar NASCAR fan generation. Those Earnhardt - Gordon races were great, and you still had guys like Harry Gant and Alan Kulwicki out there.

My first races were Modified cars, in Martinsville, 1967. First Grand National race was 1968, same track, won by Cale Yarborough, and featured Richard Petty, Elmo Langley, David Pearson, Bobby and Donnie Allison, Buddy Arrington, some vintage racers for sure.

Once my hair got much longer, in the early 70s, it was difficult to get to the track without being hassled by those guys with the slick backed Vitalis hair tonic. I connected much more with Mick and Keith than with Darrell Waltrip and Tim Richmond!

Came back into the fold in 1991, when my oldest was six, and we had some great father-son outings to races, practice/qualifying sessions, etc.

I admit, I'm still a fan, and my son and I have plans to go to Talladega in April, but ONLY if the weather is dry as a bone.

Meanwhile, the track dryers are still going around here in Atlanta....